Daniel C. Tracy, who has been a director of EDAC Technologies Corp., Farmington, Conn., has become chairman, and Dominick Pagano, who been a consultant to the company, has been named president/CEO. They will succeed Richard A. Dandurand, who has resigned as chairman/CEO.
The Air Transportation Stabilization Board rejected two more loan guarantee applications last week and drew serious return fire for the first time. Spirit Airlines took it in stride. The carrier wanted a $54-million guarantee as part of a $60-million loan. It lost out when the board concluded, in a 2-1 vote, that the proposal didn't provide reasonable assurance that the airline would be able to repay the loan. The board cited Spirit's credit rating and the risk and volatility of its business plan.
Managers had reason for ``cautious'' optimism late last week after NASA called in the Air Force to help search for a $159-million comet probe that went silent following a critical maneuver conducted ``in the blind'' with preprogrammed commands. Controllers at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Laurel, Md., listened in vain for the Comet Nucleus Tour (Contour) spacecraft at 5:35 a.m. EDT Aug. 15, when ground stations in Australia and California should have begun receiving telemetry. As the silence lengthened NASA asked the U.S.
US Airways, which shrank itself more, lost more of its passenger traffic and leveraged itself to greater heights than any other major U.S. airline after Sept. 11, is the first--and maybe not the last--to go into a reorganization under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
Boeing has begun production of its first wide-body-sized overhead luggage bins for single-aisle aircraft, and is scheduled to ship the initial batch in September to Northwest on a 757-300 (photo). The bins are not quite as big as the outboard bins on widebodies, but they have sufficient depth to accommodate 10 X 15 X 25-in. roll-on bags with their top handles facing out. Boeing's standard narrow-body luggage bins require them to face forward-to-aft. The larger bins add 60% more space to the bins, meaning they can handle five bags instead of three.
Italy's space budget for 2003-05 continues a trend of increasing cooperation between the civilian space agency ASI and the Defense Ministry. The University, Instruction and Research Ministry, which provides 89.5% of the funding in the new budget, is pushing for greater participation in space projects by the military. Included in the new 2.277-billion-euro ($2.2-billion) spending plan is Cosmo Skymed, a constellation of four small radar satellites that will work with two French optical remote-sensing platforms for civilian and military applications.
Raul Cosio (see photo) has been appointed general manager of aerospace, defense and discrete manufacturing industries for IBM. He was vice president-ebusiness transformation.
Most European carriers continue to suffer deeply from the economic downturn and are desperately seeking any signs of optimism. There are few. According to the Assn. of European Airlines' crisis monitoring system, international passenger traffic remains about 8% below pre-Sept. 11 numbers. AEA-member carriers' concerns are being exacerbated by the weak demand on the North Atlantic, an average 13% below last year's level--an indication that the summer peak season will lead to very disappointing results.
Faced with the loss of Saudi Arabia's large airfields for combat operations and, in particular, the critical combined air operations center (CAOC) at Prince Sultan AB, south of Riyadh (which is staffed with 1,500 top Allied war planners), the U.S. has been building and enlarging bases elsewhere.
Eurocopter is believed to be mulling judicial proceedings against the Portuguese government for canceling an order for nine EC635 escort/armed reconnaissance helicopters. The EC635s, valued at 35 million euros ($34.3 million) and powered by 791-shp. Turbomeca Arrius 2B1 turboshafts, were initially scheduled to be delivered in 2001 to create an army air corps in Portugal. Service entry was delayed under a joint agreement but the Portuguese Defense Ministry and Eurocopter later could not agree on the terms of weapon system integration work.
The Aug. 11 emergency evacuation of an Iberia Airlines Boeing 747-200 at John F. Kennedy International Airport that resulted in critical head wounds to one passenger and minor injuries to eight others sparked industry concerns about aircraft cabin evacuation safety. Madrid-bound Iberia Flight 6250 departed 6:57 p.m. local time from Runway 13R at JFK in clear weather. Shortly afterward, the flight crew received an indication of fire warning light on the No.
The Vietnamese government has approved the purchase of five Airbus A320s for Vietnam Airlines to add to the 12 that it already flies. Approval also was given to lease one Boeing 767-300ER and another is under consideration. The carrier already leases five 767s. Vietnam's air services have grown despite the Asian recession and, beginning Nov. 1, will grow some more. Additional services from Hanoi to Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore are planned, in addition to extra flights from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City. All are serviced by A320s.
Look for more senior management changes at NASA as Administrator Sean O'Keefe puts the finishing touches on his team. There is a new human spaceflight chief at headquarters--former shuttle commander William F. Readdy--who will be building his own team. Getting a little long in the tooth are center directors Roy D. Bridges at Kennedy Space Center and Arthur G. Stephenson at Marshall. Jeremiah F. Creedon left a vacancy at the top of the Langley Research Center when he took over aerospace technology at headquarters.
The U.S. Naval Space Command has been renamed the Naval Network and Space Operations Command, a subordinate command under the new Navy Network Warfare Command (NetWarCom) at Norfolk, Va. The shift is intended to strengthen Navy network-centric warfare capabilities by focusing them around Naval Space Command, which has operated since the mid-1980s. Under its new name, the command will become the advocate both for network operations and for closely tied space activities.
British-based low-cost carrier Ryanair is to set up a maintenance facility at Prestwick airport in Scotland. The 10-million-pound ($15.6-million) overhaul facility will be capable of housing simultaneously two Boeing 737-800 aircraft, and is due to enter service in 2004.
NASA managers are laying plans to continue the New Horizons mission to Pluto should Congress fund the project when it returns from its August recess (see p. 66). Space science managers at agency headquarters have concluded that the $120 million in the Senate version of NASA's spending bill for Fiscal 2003 would be enough to keep New Horizons working toward a January 2006 launch, and want to be ready if the House goes along.
Brazilian aircraft manufacturer Embraer reported second quarter net revenues of $623 million, an increase of 12% compared to the same quarter last year. The increase is a result of the sale of spare parts and maintenance services associated with the acquisition of a maintenance facility in Nashville, Tenn. Embraer's reported pretax earnings of $134.1 million with a return margin on net sales of 22.7%, compared with $197.3 million and 24% in same quarter last year.
The International Space Station Expedition 5 crew, about halfway through what is planned to be five months in orbit, is staying slightly ahead of its timeline for science work. As of early August, the crew had devoted 98 hr. to U.S. experiments and 24 hr. to Russian science. The 122 hr. total is about 5 hr. more than was originally budgeted through that point in the flight. The three-member crew is averaging 17 hr. per week on science, most of it devoted to the 24 U.S. investigations underway.
European aerospace/defense leaders expect their industry to weather the current economic downturn without noticeable damage. Although their expectations contrast markedly with their U.S. counterparts', recent forecasts indicate that the European civil and military sectors are poised for growth. For example, the Europeans expect Airbus to achieve and sustain parity with Boeing in the commercial transport market, while major military programs such as the Eurofighter, Tiger, NH-90 and proposed A400M airlifter should generate growing revenues and new export opportunities.
Boeing's declaration that it will shut down aircraft and parts plants in Seattle and Wichita in the event of a strike by 25,000 members of the International Assn. of Machinists & Aerospace Workers set a rancorous tone to the start of negotiations last week. ``Nobody has plans for a strike, but we must plan for unsuccessful talks,'' chief negotiator Jerry Calhoun said of the Seattle Times story. ``We're coming to negotiate a contract and not a strike,'' responded IAM&AW negotiator Dick Schneider.
Reduced vertical separation minimums (RVSM), implemented earlier this year in European airspace to create additional flight levels, is helping to boost the overall efficiency of air traffic management. However, RVSM has not yet been able to alleviate the bottlenecks that hamper operations in Europe's fragmented airspace and cause flight delays. The long-overdue airspace restructuring is tentatively scheduled to materialize no earlier than 2004 when the Single European Sky is to be implemented by the European Union's 15 member states and additional participants.
In January, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld set four top missile defense priorities. To accomplish the challenges, he called for an integrated multiservice system to be developed by the newly titled Missile Defense Agency. The priorities he outlined include: -- Defend the U.S., deployed forces, allies and friends. -- Employ a Ballistic Missile Defense System (BMDS) that layers defenses to intercept missiles in all flight phases (boost, midcourse and terminal) and all ranges of threats.
Gunilla Berg has been named chief financial officer of the SAS Group, effective Sept. 16. She held the same position at Coop Sweden. Berg will succeed Gunnar Reitan, who has been appointed deputy CEO for subsidiary and affiliated airlines and hotels. Joergen Lindegaard, who has been president/CEO, also will be chief operating officer for SAS Scandinavian Airlines. John S. Dueholm will be executive vice president-airline support and airline-related businesses, and Bernhard Rikardsen executive vice president-corporate administration and support.
Britain's QinetiQ has started commercially operating its ion propulsion chamber, with the first customer, French engine manufacturer Snecma, using the facility to test Hall Effect Thrusters. The chamber will also be used to test QinetiQ's own Gridded Ion Engine design, as well as for propulsion tests in support of ESA's Bepi Columbo Mercury mission.
THE TRANSPORTATION SECURITY Administration (TSA) has released its ``Twelve-Five Standard Security program'' that details requirements for a final rule affecting security operations for aircraft weighing 12,500 lb. or more. Operators have until Aug. 19 to comment on the proposal, which will not become effective until Sept. 19. Because the program contains sensitive security information, it is available only to FAR Part 121 and Part 135 operators who have a need to know.
